


Mama Burrd

by Freedoms_Champion



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex has never been cold before, Gen, Mom Friend Aaron Burr, Rain, Tiny Tent, everyone loves the General, manufactured conflict, war is not kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:01:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25299535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion
Summary: Late one night, after a long watch, all Burr wants to do is read for a while and go to sleep. He doesn't have to stand out in the cold and the rain anymore.Unlucky for him, he can't leave those idiots standing out there either.
Relationships: Aaron Burr & the Revolutionaries
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Mama Burrd

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Carisa_Ironfell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carisa_Ironfell/gifts).



By the time Aaron Burr made it back to his tiny Army tent, there was a scent of rain in the chilly air. He’d stood watch at his post and mentally begged the rain to fall somewhere else tonight, but he wasn’t sure the rain was listening.

At least he wouldn’t be standing out in it. Burr felt sorry for the men who were still on watch, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. If no one stood watch, the British could come on them without warning and that would be the end of the Revolution.

Burr sniffled and felt a sharp ache of homesickness. He refused to start weeping, but he did allow himself the single indulgence of a long sigh. The only reason his nose was running was because of the biting cold in the air.

A few drops plipped on the canvas over his head and Burr looked around in the light of his tiny lantern. There wasn’t much to see, just his portable desk, his trunk of carefully chosen books, and his bedroll. At least the light didn’t show him any leaks for once.

Burr thought about composing a letter for Theodosia before he went to sleep, but he wasn’t sure what to say. His day had passed in a blur of orders, standing out in the cold, and never knowing quite what would happen to him next. It wasn’t the sort of thing one could bore a sweetheart with, even between ones as unconventional as Burr and Theodosia were.

He wanted to see her, to forget about the war for a moment or two. It wasn’t possible, of course, for a number of reasons. No, he wouldn’t write to her tonight.

Perhaps he should read instead. Burr was exhausted, but he felt too restless to sleep instantly. He still had studies waiting in New York before he could practice law. It would be prudent to ensure he was ready went the time came to resume them.

Burr cross the cramped space to his trunk, but before he could extract a book, there was a commotion outside his tent.

His pistol came to his hand after a bit of fumbling. Burr wasn’t much of a shot, but he wasn’t going to let some British spy kill him, especially one clumsy enough to make that much noise. If it was someone come to fetch him for some new duty, well, he didn’t want them to think he wasn’t vigilant.

Several voices whispered outside Burr’s tent, all of them too low for him to make out what they were saying or if he knew who was speaking. Finally, someone knocked on his tent post.

“Who’s there?” Burr asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

“It is I, Marquis de Lafayette,” answered a thickly accented voice. “You know me, Burr. Let us in!”

“Come on, Burr,” added another familiar voice. “It’s cold and raining.”

Burr rolled his eyes and put his pistol away. He’d never hear the end of it from Hamilton if he left the young man’s friends standing out in the rain. He opened the tent flap.

“Aaron Burr, sir!” Alexander Hamilton said, beaming up at him. In the darkness outside, it was hard to tell, but Burr thought the tip of his nose was turning red.

“Gentlemen, please come in,” he told them, ushering Lafayette, Hamilton, and slender John Laurens inside. With all four of them, the tent went from cramped to smothering, but it also got a little warmer. Burr just considered himself lucky Mulligan was elsewhere.

“Even when the hurricanes came, it never got this cold in the islands,” Hamilton said, rubbing his arms. Despite the unhappy words, he sounded more intrigued than anything else.

Burr poured drinks from his swiftly dwindling supply of brandy and they all raised a brief toast to General Washington.

“Why are all of you here? Don’t you have duties of your own to see to?” he asked, looking around the faces.

“Not tonight. The General is closeted with his commanders, so Alex and I are off-duty,” Laurens explained. “There was an ugly confrontation between Lafayette and a man from the North, so he was sent out too. People are starting to take the stand that no country with a king should have a say in what our colonies do and that makes the French support a betrayal of our values.”

Burr let out a long breath. His personal policy of keeping his views to himself made more sense than ever now. The Revolution would be over quickly if their army had no support; how could people let passion overcome their common sense like this?

“The General will smooth it over,” Hamilton said, gesturing widely. “He’s the best for the job, everyone knows that.”

“Very true,” Lafayette agreed, flashing a smile. “So, we were all at loose ends and tired of bickering. It made sense to come to the only person in this camp who doesn’t feel strongly about any of this.”

Burr braced himself against several heavy pats on the back and resisted to urge to set Lafayette straight. He did feel strongly about the Revolution, but he preferred to show that by fighting for it rather than talking about it. Reserve and restraint had been his only friends after he was orphaned, and nothing had convinced him otherwise.

The rain came down harder in the lull of conversation. Burr sighed and shook his head.

“Rather than getting soaked to the skin, why don’t you gentlemen stay here tonight?”

The three of them chorused agreement without a moment of hesitation.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Comments are welcome, especially if you have an idea for another one!
> 
> I just have this vision of Burr as a fluffy hen, chasing the others around to keep them out of trouble during Act I.


End file.
